Whitetail Weekly, The 2011 Hit List
Posted 09-14-2011 at 11:51 AM by Mightymouse
We’ve had our cameras out since April and have gotten thousands of pictures so far this year. We’ve watched bucks start to sprout antlers, seen tiny fawns grow before our eyes from week to week and have seen all sorts of critters including raccoons, coyote’s, house cats, rabbits and squirrels to name a few. As the summer comes to a close, and the season draws near, it’s time to take a look at the who’s who of bucks on our property this season.
Usually we’d be happy to have one or two potential shooter bucks running our property but this year has been an exception to the rule for us. Over the last few years we have seen a steady increase in the quality of the hunting on our property and part of that increase in quality is the increased sightings of good bucks throughout the year. Last season we saw three good bucks over the course of the year, this year the season isn’t even here yet and we are able to make a “Top 5 Hit List” containing 5 good bucks. To say we are excited about this upcoming season is an understatement!
Since any good writer should put a little suspense in his work, I’ll list the bucks from number 5 to number 1 leaving our best buck for last. So, without any further ado, I am pleased to present the “Whitetail Weekly Top 5 for 2011”!!
5. The number 5 buck on the list is a deer we call “Pinchy”. We have watched him all summer long and he got his name back on June 22nd when we saw him in an area we call The Pinch. At first I wasn’t sure if he was a 1.5 or a 2.5 but as he continued to grow over the summer it now appears he is a 2.5 so he makes my list. He may get a free pass from me (especially early in the season) with all these other bucks running around but if someone in our group takes him down I will certainly be excited.
4. This is a buck we call “Newber”. He first showed up on camera July 7th while browsing in our small clover plot. We next saw him on July 21st and he was sporting a nice 8pt frame but had no brow tines making him a six point. We lost track of him for a few weeks but he’s back now and that 8pt frame has really blown up, unfortunately he is still missing brow tines though. I am pretty comfortable putting him as a 2.5yr old and having him on the list. He’s one of those bucks that if we take him it will be great and if we don’t it will be exciting to see if we can find him again next year. Really a win-win situation for us.
3. This is a buck that just showed up in the last month or so, and man were we glad to see him! Better late than never I always say! This is a buck we have been calling “Big 8” because…..well I think you get the idea. He has a great frame and, despite the small brow’s, is a great looking buck. He didn’t show up till recently but since his arrival he’s been making a lot of appearances. Hopefully that continues as we get to October and we can get him in close when it counts.
2. This is “Corners” and until last week he was the number 1 buck on our list. He has been running with Pinchy pretty much all summer and we have dozens of pictures of him so far. He earned his name from one of our first pictures which was taken back on June 21st as he passed the inside corner of one of our plots. He is a wide racked 10pt that we believe was on and around our property last season as well. Last year he was a wide racked 9pt and Chris and I both saw him once but neither of us could get a shot at him. Judging by some of the body shots we have of him along with how he looked (both rack and body) last year we know he is at least a 3.5 this year. His body is much larger than Pinchy’s and if we found out he was 4.5 I really wouldn’t be too surprised. He is a great buck and the fact that he has been all over our property all summer has us hoping for the best as we head to opening day.
1. The buck in the number one spot on our list is a buck that just showed up on our last camera check. We got one good video and one blurry picture of him as he grazed in our plot on August 16th. We named him “Kicker” due to the small kicker he sports on his right side beam. In the picture he is a mainframe 10pt but along with his kicker he is also starting to sprout a G5 on his right beam. With the picture being taken back in mid August there is a small chance his sprouted that G5 enough to make him a mainframe 11pt but either way he is a great, great buck and our jaws about hit the floor when we saw his video pop up. If one of us puts this deer on the ground it will certainly be one of the top highlights of my hunting life thus far. (If you click on the second picture you can watch a video of Kicker)
It is hard for us to believe that the bucks above are all being seen, pretty much on a regular basis, on our property this year. We have put in a lot of work, time and effort into improving our property the last few years and it’s an awesome feeling to see that effort start to pay off. As we drove home from the property last weekend we both were a bit taken back by what we had seen on the cameras. It was pretty exciting to say the least and has given us some high hopes for the season.
Hopefully you enjoyed taking a look at our hit list for the season. Stay tuned and with any luck we’ll be giving you an up close and personal look at one (or a few) of these bucks as the season progresses!
Take care, and thanks for reading!!!
Usually we’d be happy to have one or two potential shooter bucks running our property but this year has been an exception to the rule for us. Over the last few years we have seen a steady increase in the quality of the hunting on our property and part of that increase in quality is the increased sightings of good bucks throughout the year. Last season we saw three good bucks over the course of the year, this year the season isn’t even here yet and we are able to make a “Top 5 Hit List” containing 5 good bucks. To say we are excited about this upcoming season is an understatement!
Since any good writer should put a little suspense in his work, I’ll list the bucks from number 5 to number 1 leaving our best buck for last. So, without any further ado, I am pleased to present the “Whitetail Weekly Top 5 for 2011”!!
5. The number 5 buck on the list is a deer we call “Pinchy”. We have watched him all summer long and he got his name back on June 22nd when we saw him in an area we call The Pinch. At first I wasn’t sure if he was a 1.5 or a 2.5 but as he continued to grow over the summer it now appears he is a 2.5 so he makes my list. He may get a free pass from me (especially early in the season) with all these other bucks running around but if someone in our group takes him down I will certainly be excited.
4. This is a buck we call “Newber”. He first showed up on camera July 7th while browsing in our small clover plot. We next saw him on July 21st and he was sporting a nice 8pt frame but had no brow tines making him a six point. We lost track of him for a few weeks but he’s back now and that 8pt frame has really blown up, unfortunately he is still missing brow tines though. I am pretty comfortable putting him as a 2.5yr old and having him on the list. He’s one of those bucks that if we take him it will be great and if we don’t it will be exciting to see if we can find him again next year. Really a win-win situation for us.
3. This is a buck that just showed up in the last month or so, and man were we glad to see him! Better late than never I always say! This is a buck we have been calling “Big 8” because…..well I think you get the idea. He has a great frame and, despite the small brow’s, is a great looking buck. He didn’t show up till recently but since his arrival he’s been making a lot of appearances. Hopefully that continues as we get to October and we can get him in close when it counts.
2. This is “Corners” and until last week he was the number 1 buck on our list. He has been running with Pinchy pretty much all summer and we have dozens of pictures of him so far. He earned his name from one of our first pictures which was taken back on June 21st as he passed the inside corner of one of our plots. He is a wide racked 10pt that we believe was on and around our property last season as well. Last year he was a wide racked 9pt and Chris and I both saw him once but neither of us could get a shot at him. Judging by some of the body shots we have of him along with how he looked (both rack and body) last year we know he is at least a 3.5 this year. His body is much larger than Pinchy’s and if we found out he was 4.5 I really wouldn’t be too surprised. He is a great buck and the fact that he has been all over our property all summer has us hoping for the best as we head to opening day.
1. The buck in the number one spot on our list is a buck that just showed up on our last camera check. We got one good video and one blurry picture of him as he grazed in our plot on August 16th. We named him “Kicker” due to the small kicker he sports on his right side beam. In the picture he is a mainframe 10pt but along with his kicker he is also starting to sprout a G5 on his right beam. With the picture being taken back in mid August there is a small chance his sprouted that G5 enough to make him a mainframe 11pt but either way he is a great, great buck and our jaws about hit the floor when we saw his video pop up. If one of us puts this deer on the ground it will certainly be one of the top highlights of my hunting life thus far. (If you click on the second picture you can watch a video of Kicker)
It is hard for us to believe that the bucks above are all being seen, pretty much on a regular basis, on our property this year. We have put in a lot of work, time and effort into improving our property the last few years and it’s an awesome feeling to see that effort start to pay off. As we drove home from the property last weekend we both were a bit taken back by what we had seen on the cameras. It was pretty exciting to say the least and has given us some high hopes for the season.
Hopefully you enjoyed taking a look at our hit list for the season. Stay tuned and with any luck we’ll be giving you an up close and personal look at one (or a few) of these bucks as the season progresses!
Take care, and thanks for reading!!!
Total Comments 7
Comments
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Nice list. Good luck!Posted 09-14-2011 at 12:28 PM by Yohann 
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Hey, thanks Yohann. Hopefully we can scratch a few off the list as the season progresses!!
Posted 09-14-2011 at 06:16 PM by Mightymouse
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Very nice list, i enjoy reading Whitetail Weekly! Found this site through you on SLEDMI.com.
Posted 09-15-2011 at 05:38 AM by dafalls
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this blog is incredible, the effort put into it is way more than the average person would ever invest. you really should look into some type of outdoor writing opportunities, i would read your stuff in any whitetail publication. real world scenerios are very rare and greatly appreciated. please, please, please keep up the great stories. i feel like i'm checking the cams and walking the property right next to ya!
Posted 09-15-2011 at 12:35 PM by mokis
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Mokis, thank you very much for your kind words. It's great to know that somebody enjoys the blog. We are just average guys that love hunting and all that goes with it and it's cool to see that resonate with others.
Dafalls, thanks for following the blog. I'm glad you enjoy it! What's your screen name on SledMI?Posted 09-15-2011 at 09:12 PM by Mightymouse
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awesome stuff love to read the blog .you did a great job
Posted 09-19-2011 at 11:16 AM by WALLEYE SEEKER
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Thanks Walleye Seeker, glad you enjoy it!! Hopefully this season will give us some good topics and stories to share.
Posted 09-20-2011 at 08:39 PM by Mightymouse
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